January 31, 2009 Lakeland

Saturday, January 31, 2009:

This is the first time in my entire life that I packed smart. I had 1 suitcase and a larger, light weight purse and that was all. I didn't drag a carry on and a bunch of other junk that I barely used.

Our flights were all on-time. We flew from Grand Rapids to Chicago and then down to Tampa. We got our rental car right at the Hertz desk at the airport. Things couldn't have gone smoother. What a wonderful feeling!

It was great to finally see some sunshine.

We stopped at my grandma's house in Zephyrhills at Betmar Mobile home park. It was great to see Grandma and Norm.

In the evening, my mom and I drove over to Leah Engle's apartment in Lakeland, via the Polk highway. It was nice to see her. I hadn't seen her in several years, as she was going to school up at Michigan Tech and then moved to Florida to work about 1 1/2 yrs ago.
She lives on the 3rd floor and overlooks this tropical looking pond. She said she has seen alligators there.

She drove us around Lakeland. We had dinner at Harry's Seafood in downtown Lakeland. The food was delicious.

I enjoyed driving around Lakeland to see the town. That was where we were planning to move last fall.